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Chicken Tractor and a Harvest!

This weekend my wonderful sons and husband built the chicken coop/tractor.  Here is a pic of the youngest hanging out with the chickens.

This tractor will allow the girls to hang out, catch bugs, fertilize and till (scratch) in different parts of the yard.  I have great hopes for a lower flea issue!

The garden is starting to produce - so far we have a ton of peppers and green beans as well as Swiss chard and turnip greens.

There were some issues with flea beetles, caterpillars, and white flies, but I am hopeful that the crops will recover.

I will be at the Wednesday market with all my scrubs plus lip balm and veggies.  We will also be selling our crafts at the Dia de los Muertos Street Festival on November 2nd, downtown on Starr Street. It is a super event and a very special part of the culture here in South Texas.  I hope to see a lot of traffic for our usual scrubs, products, and some very special crafts - Day of the Dead Flower Pots!

November 17th we will be participating in the Arts and Crafts Fall Fair at the Southside Farmers' Market.  Come on out and get some fresh veggies, updates on the chickens, and really lovely body products and crafts!

So today I am working on jewelry and products for the upcoming holiday markets.  I was supposed to go to the hardware store for supplies to build a chicken tractor, but the truck keys left with my husband!  Ahh, Friday.  We have to get the girls some more outdoor time and keep them safe at the same time - we need a chicken tractor.  It's really just a small, movable pen that keeps the girls contained and safe from predators.  Meanwhile they are scratching (tilling) and eating bugs (organic pest control) and pooping (fertilizer) - Voila! chicken tractor.  I will post pics as soon as we get them in!

Adventures with Chickens

Wow!  Have we been busy.  I rolled out some new products that passed our testing:  Hair Mask for Light or Dark Hair and an AMAZING Chocolate Mint lip balm - yum!  But what really kept us hopping was the chickens!  They are about a third or more fledged and love to practice flying.  Some of our little ones are trying to escape the fish tank/brooder!

So far the chickens are named: Spaz (he is a VERY different chicken!), Zeke, Happy Feet 1 and 2, Beaker, Spike, Stripe, Goldie, Ginger, Marmalade, and Big Bird.  So far Spaz has tried jumping out 3 times!  All of the girls love to go outside.  Sunday they found (with Dad's help ;)) some yummy grub worms and earthworms.  They had a great time practicing to be big girls - scratching, exploring, and playing "Chicken Keep Away" with the treasures they found.  I will be posting a video in the next day or so.  It is HILARIOUS!

I am so happy that for the Downtown Farmers' Market I have produce:  Swiss chard, basil, peppermint, cilantro, parsley, serranos  cucumbers, and sage!  There are a lot of  tomatoes of all kinds on the vine and lots of spinach, turnip and collard greens, green beans, and lettuces coming in.  Most should be ready for next market.

Making lip balm :(

I tried the various lip gloss recipes this morning and it just won't work.  I refuse to use Vaseline because of the "all natural" issue.  I tried it anyway, just for me, and mixing drink mix in made a grainy and unpleasant texture.

I am going to stick to the balm recipe that I make and just add color and fragrance/flavor.  Soon I will have the next batches ready to go, so look for them at my table!

All natural is the key.  All of my botanicals are all natural and many are organic.  This morning I am soaking herbs for toners and finishing some new products I have finally finished testing.  Look for Gardener's Hand Scrub, lip scrub, chamomile eye and skin calming mist, and hair masks.

Whew! Here we go . . .

Wow!  It has been really crazy getting this site set-up!  Apparently websites are not part of my talent tree.

Be patient with me as I get this thing going and check back often for more stuff on the site!